The Key
by tsheen715
Summary: **takes place a year after DoC. What happens when Cloud helps out a girl that looks strangely like someone he knows? who is she? and what does she want? read to find out.** warning! totally original characters inside! also, some CloTi Yuffentine and more
1. Chapter 1: The Lone FIghter

*****Disclaimer*** I in no way own final fantasy or anything associated with it….but I wish I did.**

The cold rain fell onto him in waves as he drove home to 7th Heaven. His muscles sore from a long day a work, he wanted nothing more than to be embraced by the one person that could give him immediate comfort, Tifa.

Far off in the distance, he saw a hoard of wolf-like creatures surrounding a lone fighter, one that was taking them all down- one by one.

'Amazing,' he thought. As he got closer he began to notice her size and figure. It was a young woman.

Down they fell like large trees one after another, and eventually, there were none left for her to fight. Skidding Fenrir to an abrupt halt, Cloud got off his bike and began to walk towards the girl. They were in the middle of a barren road, which was far off from any civilization, yet this girl was here by herself without any form of transportation. He wanted to know why, but more importantly he wanted to offer her help.

Swiftly she turned her head to face him, but he only got a brief look at her blue mako eyes before her knees buckled and her legs gave out from under her. Immediately, Cloud was by her side; he had saved her from falling head first into the hard pavement. With the dim light of the moon he tried to look at her face, but was unable to make any specific distinctions in her features. Rather than leave her in the streets, he decided to take her home because anywhere was better than Edge at night. Gently he placed her in front of him on Fenrir and continued his drive home.

'What will Tifa say?' he wondered as he began to speed off into the distance.


	2. Chapter 2: An All Too Familiar Stranger

*****Disclaimer*** I in no way own final fantasy or anything associated with it….but I wish I did.**

Cloud could see that the lights in 7th Heaven were still on, but he also noticed the closed sign was visible. He didn't know what time it was, but he knew it was late; one? Maybe two-o-clock? Tifa must have been waiting for him.

He took the sleeping girl into his arms and walked to the entrance of the bar, but he realized that he was going to have a hard time getting in. Staring at the door knob knowing full well that he wouldn't be able to turn the knob as long as the girl was in his arms, he thought to himself to what he should do. He didn't want to move her because he didn't want to wake her up, but he didn't exactly want to ask for help either.

"Damn i—"before he could finish his sentence the door to the bar swing open, and there stood Tifa. Initially she had a welcoming smile for him, but her smile faded when she saw the girl.

"Cloud, who is that?" she asked with worry.

It was funny, he thought, most women would have flown into frenzy, but not Tifa. No, she was the only person in this world that would want to help a strange girl in her boyfriend's arms. Truly, she had a mother's instinct, which ironically, was just the trait that his own mother wanted for him to find in a girl. True, Tifa was a year younger than him, but she was definitely more mature, which meant that she'd always be the one to take care of him. He, however, was perfectly fine with that.

"I found her in Edge."

Tifa only nodded in understanding and looked at the girl before gasping. Up until then, he had never really seen her, but what he saw shocked him. At first, he could only see the dirt marks on her clothing and splotches of dried blood on her skin and clothes. 'What happened to her?' he wondered.

When he moved his eyes to her face, he froze. She looked just like Tifa. There were some minute differences, but she looked almost exactly like Tifa. The two adults took their eyes off of her and looked into each others'. Cloud could tell that there were a hundred questions running through her mind, and she could tell the same for him.

"It's cold. Let's just get her inside. We'll deal with this upstairs," she decided.

Nodding, he followed her into the bar and up the stairs. Tifa quickly opened the door to her bedroom and ushered Cloud inside. Carefully laying her on the bed, Cloud quietly made his way to the bathroom to get a wet cloth and the first aid kit while try to be mindful of the sleeping children next door.

'What is going on?' he wondered.

He knocked on the door before hearing a quiet, "come in" from Tifa.

Slowly, Tifa began to clean the girl up. Other than minor cuts and bruises she seemed fine, which gave Tifa a sense of relief.

Slowly Cloud looked up from the chair that he had sat down in. Looking between the girl and Tifa, he felt unsure of what to do. He didn't know if she was dangerous, in trouble, or something else unimaginable.

"Hey, Tifa, "he called.

"Yes?" for a moment she looked up at him, but then immediately went back to her task.

"You—you don't have sister or anything do you?

"No…Cloud, I'm just as confused as you are," she looked up at him the worry in her eyes clearly visible. Her brows were furrowed, but they relaxed when she noticed how wet the two of them were.

"Go change Cloud. I got it from here."

He only shook his head in protest. He wasn't going to leave Tifa alone with a stranger—even if she did looked like her.

"Cloud. I can defend myself, so go," she demanded.

Sighing, he stood from his chair. He never was one to argue with someone else; it involved too many words, and often ending in hurt feelings.

After Tifa was sure Cloud was gone, she continued to tend to the girl, but then she realized that not only was the girl awake, she was staring at her.

"I'm dead?" she asked.

Tifa could only let out a small chuckle before replying, "No, you're here at 7th heaven."

Faster than lightning the girl had sprung off of the bed and into the middle of the room. Tifa looked at her. Her eyes were darting around the room, and she mumbled something under her breath, which went along the lines of, "Holy crap."

Tifa stood up and walked over to the panicking girl, but once the girl noticed her, she slowly began to back away.

"I won't hurt you. I'm a friend," Tifa said as she continued to move closer, but the girl could only stare at her with her wine colored eyes.

"I have to go," the stranger declared before walking towards the bedroom door, but she was stopped half-way when she rammed into another figure. Cloud.


	3. Chapter 3: A Thwarted Escape

*****Disclaimer*** I in no way own final fantasy or anything associated with it….but I wish I did.**

"…I could've sworn your eyes were blue," Cloud said to the girl in a tone that was half way between a statement and a question.

Almost immediately, she turned her face and cast her view to the side of the room. She had to get out of there, she just didn't know how.

"Sweetie, there's nothing to be afraid of. It's too late to leave now, so you should just stay the night," said Tifa.

She didn't want the girl roaming the streets this late at night, but more importantly, she had some questions for the girl—starting with why they looked the same.

Cloud only stood there staring at the girl. He thought a moment about what he should say, but all he could manage was a, "…she's right. It's…dangerous."

He really wanted to be asking her the questions he has had for her since he got home like, 'Who the hell are you?' or 'Why do you look like a copy of Tifa?', but he didn't want to stress the situation, so he stayed silent.

The girl looked up at Cloud and he could see the tears that were lining her eyes. He took a step forward, ready to ask her what was wrong, but she had already slid out of the room through the space between him and the door.

"I'm so sorry," she called out as she made her escape.

Tifa jumped up and looked to Cloud, her eyes wide with confusion and worry.

"We have to stop her! She may need our help," She exclaimed.

Cloud nodded and agreement and the two began to make their way after the girl, but they saw that they didn't need to go far because she was in the bar with three very familiar faces. One face, technically two faces, that stood out in particular.


	4. Chapter 4: Another Thwarted Escape!

*****Disclaimer*** I in no way own final fantasy or anything associated with it….but I wish I did. I only own well…you'll see ;)**

"I see you've also found a clone," said a very irritated looking Vincent Valentine, who was holding an equally irritated, but younger, looking copy of himself by the arm.

The girl, who initially had a surprised look on her face, managed a small smile for the young man. He too, who had been frowning, also brightened up when he saw her face.

Yuffie, who had been spending the night with Vincent, instantly noticed the change of attitude that had just taken place, which helped solidify her theory about the two strangers.

"I get it now! You two are from an alternate universe where Tifa and Vincent are together! Well let's get this straight girls, Vinnie is mine!" said Yuffie while looking between Tifa and the girl.

Tifa and the girl's eyes grew wide, and while Tifa laughed at the ridiculous accusation, the girl once again grew serious and tried to find another way out of this mess. The boy, who noticed the change in the girl, began to do the same. Suddenly a scream was heard upstairs followed by a series of footsteps down the stairs. A small and crying Marlene ran towards the person, who she thought was Tifa, and wrapped her small arms around her hips while burying her head into the girl's stomach.

"I had the worst dream!" she began before looking up, but when she did, she let out another scream.

Looking between Tifa and the girl, she began to panic. Marlene noticed that Vincent was there, and looked to him for help, but then she noticed that Vincent, too, had a copy of himself.

"OH MY GOSH!" she screamed before detaching herself from the girl and running into the real Tifa's arms.

"WHAT? What happened?" a worried Denzel asked from the top of the stairs. When he reached the bottom, he understood.

"….Oh." he managed.

At that instant Vincent's copy slammed into Vincent and pushed him to the side. Grabbing the girl's hand, the two made their way to the bar entrance before being stopped by a group of extremely confused looking friends.

_Seriously…this is the last time this'll happen. You'll meet the entire group in the next chapter, so please rate and review! Btw… sorry they're so short. Don't worry! They'll get longer!_


	5. Chapter 5: The Stranger Gets a Name

*****Disclaimer*** I in no way own final fantasy or anything associated with it….but I wish I did. I only own well…you'll see ;)**

"You've got to be kidding me!" the two clones shouted in unison, the frustration clear in their voices.

"What the hell is this?" screamed Sid, who had just entered the bar with a very upset looking group of women. There wasn't just one Shera, as a matter of fact there were three- one young, one old, and one in the middle.

"Damn it! Which one is my wife?" he asked.

"Cloud! Tifa!" interjected a very confused looking Barrett. "What in the hell happened? Why is my baby, big?" he continued. Beside him stood an older and very sorry looking copy of Marlene, whose fingers were interlocked with another familiar face, which suspiciously resembled Denzel.

"Dammit! I told you to stop touching my baby!" Barrett screamed while ripping the pair of hands apart.

"Daddy!" the Marlene-clone yelled before covering her mouth. The group of clones all managed to slap their heads in unison, well, all except the old version of Shera, who had a very amused look on her face.

"Children. It's fine. This is what we came here to do," the older Shera began.

"No. Not this!" screamed the Tifa clone. "This wasn't our mission—it wasn't our goal! We were never supposed to meet!" she continued.

The Vincent clone took her into his arms as she began to cry, which made the real Cloud, Vincent, Tifa, and Yuffie all feel very uncomfortable.

The Shera clone continued, "I'm sorry sweetie, but it _had_ been part of the mission all along. I didn't tell any of you; however, because I knew that, in the end, you'd all go against my decision to warn our friends from the past. You must realize, though, that the best way to stop the future is for all of them to be prepared for what's coming next."

"THE FRIGGIN FUTURE?" interrupted Sid.

"You're shitting me," a very shocked Barrett continued before being cut off by a, "Daddy!" from not only one Marlene, but two.

"Sorry."

Tifa had had enough.

"Okay! Everyone come inside and sit at a booth. We're going to have a long night ahead of us."

One by one, the group began to go towards the booths, except for the Tifa and Vincent clones. The Tifa clone's eyes clearly showed her fear, but a reassuring nod from the Vincent clone helped her gain her courage and begin moving towards a seat.

Just then, four more familiar faces came running in.

"Jun! What the hell! I thought they'd killed you or something!" exclaimed a very excited yet relieved looking Yuffie clone, which caused a previously depressed looking Yuffie to cheer up.

"YAY! I have one too!" Yuffie exclaimed which made the two girls smile from ear to ear.

Reno came in with a very windblown and pregnant Elena along with a young man, who resembled Reno a great deal.

"What is this, yo? You all got em'?"

"Yep! Join the group!" confirmed a very exasperated Tifa.

By this time, everyone was situated in their seats, and the Shera clone began her story.

"I know how you all feel, but trust me, there is a reason why we are here. We are from eighteen years into the future, a future without most of you. In this future, we are the only things standing in the way of the Earth's destruction. This is because in the future, Sephiroth will return."

All eyes grew wide.

"It seems that while Hojo possessed Weiss last year, he somehow managed to culture his cells and develop a full grown clone of himself. Were he got these cells, we are unsure considering the fact that his body had been completely destroyed many years prior, but we believe that he had some of his DNA put on reserve for times of emergency. This year, his clone will become activated, which will eventually lead to a series of events that end in hardship.

"Hojo will realize that because Sephiroth couldn't beat you all before, he had to somehow incorporate your DNA into his new Sephiroth clone, but when he initially tried to kill you and collect your cells he learned that the cells had to be alive and replaced each day. This led to the kidnapping and disappearances of you all, well, all of you except for Cloud and Tifa.

The Shera Clone looked at the Tifa clone and urged her to continue the explanation, but she shook her head against it. The Yuffie clone wouldn't stand for that.

"You've waited years to see them. You've cried yourself to sleep hundreds of times because of them. You've almost died hundreds of times to avenge them. Not only do you need to get this off of your chest, they need to know what's going to happen, so they can try to stop it. You all deserve that much" she said with as much care as worry.

The Tifa clone paused, as if considering what the Yuffie clone had just said. A small squeeze of the hand from the Vincent clone convinced her that the Yuffie clone was right. She had to do this no matter how badly she felt.

Sighing, she began to speak, "My name is Skylar Strife, and I am your daughter."

_Hope you all like it so far! Please rate and review! I'll be sure to upload soon! By the way, if anything here is confusing or incorrect please let me know so I can address these problems__ thank you!_

_P.S. next chapter I'll totally address these hook ups, but for now….you must wait!_


	6. Chapter 6: It's My Fault

*****Disclaimer*** I in no way own final fantasy or anything associated with it….but I wish I did. I only own… well, you'll see ;)**

The bar was quiet. No one dared to make a sound, just as no one dared to move. 'How would Cloud and Tifa react?' the group silently wondered. Cloud and Tifa's eyes had gone wide, and the two sat there motionless for a few moments, but Skylar understood. She nodded her head a few times before she continued.

"Trust me, this is a lot harder to tell then to hear," she managed.

This grabbed the couple's attention.

Tifa sat there staring at the young girl. She couldn't be a day older sixteen or seventeen, yet her eyes showed that she had the maturity of someone far beyond her years. She had a weight upon her chest.

Skylar continued.

"When that monster, Hojo, recreated Sephiroth's body, he realized that he needed to include the genetic make up of the heroes that had defeated him countless times before. Only that way, would his creation become truly indestructible because then his Sephiroth would be able to predict your next move before you, yourself, even knew it.

She directed her gaze to Cloud before saying, "Who better to start with then with his biggest threat?" On cue, Cloud felt himself go cold, but he did not avert his gaze. He wanted to know what would happen next.

"Mother would never let me go far away from the bar entrance, I was, after all, only five years old, but one day I ended up dropping my ball, and I followed it all the way into a dark alley. There, a tall, silver-haired man picked it up for me. Then, everything went black.

"When I regained consciousness, I was groggy. Where I was? I didn't know, but I heard a pair of familiar voices from far away. It was both of you, and you both had come to save me. Slowly, my vision became clearer, and I saw that a battle had ensued. It seemed like you two would win, but that's when I felt the sharp touch of a blade to the base of my neck. It was Hojo.

Tears stared to form in her eyes.

"H-he thought that he would only need your bodies, and… and he didn't want you to damage his Sephiroth… so he told you to drop your weapons, or he'd…he'd kill me.

By this time tears were streaming down her face, but what once seemed like sorrow, turned into anger.

"Oh god, I was so dumb! I-I didn't know what came over me. I j-just got so scared all of a sudden. I begged you to save me! And dammit! You two didn't give it a second thought! Immediately you two stopped fighting, and you dropped your weapons!

Cloud nodded. It sounded like it would have been the best thing to do. Tifa agreed, but Skylar knew her parents very well, so she knew what they were thinking.

"Don't you get it?" she screamed. "He killed you! He killed you… and it was my fault."

_Felt like this was a nice place to end it… a cliffhanger! Do you see the similarity in Skylar and Cloud? If you do, you deserve a cookie! I know there are still a lot of gaps, but they'll be filled in the next chapter;) oh, I was supposed to talk about the hook ups… umm…next time! I swear!_


	7. Chapter 7:She's the Key

*****Disclaimer*** I in no way own final fantasy or anything associated with it….but I wish I did. I only own… well, you'll see ;)**

Skylar couldn't stand to look at her parents anymore. She ran out in tears. Cloud immediately stood up to go after her, but the Vincent clone stopped him.

"I'll go. You need to hear the rest of the story." Cloud nodded. He understood. Slowly he sat back down into his seat, and Tifa put a hand on his shoulder. He looked into her eyes and saw that she was just as distressed as he was.

"Cloud, it's not our place. Not yet, anyways. Let's let someone she's comfortable with calm her down. Again, Cloud nodded.

"She'll be fine. I think years of regret and guilt made this reunion very difficult, but she'll come around. I'll just have to finish the rest of the story," the older Shera clone said.

"After your deaths, Sky lost control. Somehow, she had destroyed the building where she was held captive, but at the time we didn't know how that was possible—she was only 5. Years later, we found out.

"You see, Tifa's DNA was easy for Hojo to culture because she was a normal human, but after a certain number of amplifications Tifa's DNA would begin to develop mutations. Moreover, Cloud exposure to the mako he was immersed in, changed his genetic makeup, and the cooperativeness of his cells. For some reason, his cells would not fuse with that of Sephiroth's, and Hojo concluded that the combined concentration of the mako in both Cloud's and Sephiroth's cells was too great, which was why his DNA would repel Sephiroth's DNA. Almost like when two magnets would repel each other.

"Sky's DNA, however, was hybrid DNA, thus, her cells would have easily combined with that of Sephiroth's while giving a certain amount of Tifa's DNA as well. It was then that Hojo realized that not only did his cell donor need to be alive; he realized he needed Sky to complete his ultimate Sephiroth. Only with her or Cloud's DNA would Sephiroth's body become stable. That's when the attacks started.

"Every time Sephiroth came, he would be defeated by a different one of you—something that would have been impossible before, but because his body was unstable and was constantly decaying, his reliance on the mako and supplementary cells made him weaker.

"After each defeat, Sky would be shuttled over to another friend, another ally, but then the person she had been with before would mysteriously disappear. Coincidentally, the next time Sephiroth would appear, he would have developed a different kind of fighting style—one similar to the person that had just gone missing.

"Eventually, we were all that was left, and Sephiroth had become virtually indomitable. Initially, we survived by running, but then we began fighting. That's when we discovered that Sky could tap into the mako energy in her cells. That she could enhance her own abilities; however, the number of casualties, as a result of our fighting, was growing too high. That's when we decided that we needed to come to the past and change the course of the future."

"I didn't think Sephiroth would be so complaint to becoming Hojo's minion," interjected Vincent.

"At first, he wasn't. He did his own thing, but by the end of the day his body would start disintegrating. Sephiroth needed Hojo to survive, but if he becomes whole, if he gets Skylar's DNA, he will throw Hojo to the side and destroy the Earth." answered the older Shera.

"Skylar is the key. She can either open the door to the Earth's salvation, or the Earth's destruction," said the young Shera clone.

"How can she save the world? She's only a kid, yo," asked Reno.

"She is the offspring of the only man who has ever defeated Sephiroth. She is the only one, whose moves Sephiroth cannot predict. She is his greatest threat," the older Shera concluded.

"Yeah? Well, how do we know that we can believe you about that that kid belonging to Cloud? Shit, time travel is impossible, so how is it that you're here? Asked Cid.

"I believe her," both Cloud and Tifa said simultaneously before looking at each other and smiling.

"She looks just like me."

"And clearly she has Cloud's tendency to blame herself for things that aren't her fault."

"Yuffie!"

"What? I only speak the truth! Besides, Cloud's gotten over it! Right, big guy?"

Cloud nodded, he had. Seeing Skylar, though, made him wonder if it really was his fault that Zack and Aerith had died, or if he had just felt guilty about not being able to save them. Maybe he'd never know.

The old Shera smiled. She had really missed her friends.

"That doesn't answer my friggin question!" shouted a frustrated Cid.

"Oh! I'll answer that," replied a very excited Yuffie clone.

"You know how lifestream takes the memories of people after they die, right? And you also know that materia is crystallized lifestream, right? Well, it took us an eternity to find a natural materia from this time, but when we did, we used a machine that would harness lifestream's energy and teleport us to the time period that the materia was from. When we got here though, we all got separated, and we realized that it was because we all ended up with the people we wanted to see the most, you all," she concluded.

"But I found Skylar on a deserted street in Edge," said Cloud.

"It's probably because she didn't want to see you, but destiny works in weird ways, huh?" she replied.

_I hope you all like where this is going. It's a little bit confusing, so if you have any questions feel free to ask. Also, I know this stuff is really different from the actual game and story, but I tried to find explanations for everything, so I basically molded it to make it work… forgive me, you diehard ff7 fans!_


	8. Chapter 8: Acceptance

*****Disclaimer*** I in no way own final fantasy or anything associated with it….but I wish I did. I only own… well, you'll see ;)**

After a couple of minutes, the Vincent clone returned to the bar with a sleeping Skylar in his arms.

"Should I put her upstairs?" he asked.

Cloud stood up and walked over to him, taking the girl into his arms," I'll do it."

The Vincent clone understood.

Cloud ascended the stairs slowly. A few hours ago, he had found out he had a daughter. A few minutes ago, he began to believe it, but now, he didn't know if he could accept it. It didn't seem possible. She was, after all, only a few years younger than he was, and he had only recently told Tifa how he'd felt. Okay fine, he didn't tell her. Actually, not even once. He did try to show her though.

Buying her flowers every so often, doing small chores around the house, smiling a little more often for her. These were the subtle things he did for her.

At first, Tifa didn't understand why he had the sudden change, but eventually she got it. As a result, when she had asked him if he loved her, he nodded. From then on, things were a little happier in 7th Heaven.

Cloud, however, regretted never saying he loved Tifa on his own. She would occasionally ask him, but no matter how hard he tried, he would always find himself nodding instead of replying with a 'Yes, I love you.' He couldn't do it, but not because he didn't want to, but because he didn't know how to.

At the pace Cloud and Tifa's relationship was going, he didn't know if it was possible for them to have a child in a few years—one to two at most. Would he have anything against it? No, but he just didn't think it was possible.

Slowly he set the girl down on the bed, but when he turned to leave he heard a broken, "I-I'm sorry."

It was Skylar, and she had woken up.

"Why?" Cloud asked.

For most of the night, he had remained relatively quiet, but when he saw this girl's, guilt he recognized a trait in her that he once had in himself. For the first time of the night, he had instigated a conversation.

Skylar looked up, 'Why?' she wondered.

For years she had been ripping herself apart, blaming herself for her parents' deaths, but now that she was face-to-face with one of them, all he could ask her was _why _she would be sorry. If anything she hoped for anger or furry, maybe even forgiveness, but not a complete dismissal of the entire situation. Not a calm, "Why?"

"Why?" tears began to form in her eyes again, which startled Cloud. He grabbed a couple of tissues from his table, sat down on the bed, and offered her the bundled mess in his hand. Skylar took the tissues and softened her voice.

"Daddy, _I-I_ was the o-one who disobeyed mother. _I_ w-was the one that was used as b-bait. _I-I _was the one that selfishly asked you to s-save me…_I _was the one who k-killed you," she concluded before she buried her head into her arms and began to sob.

"…it doesn't sound like it was your fault," said Cloud.

"Not at all," Tifa agreed a comforting smile on her face.

Cloud turned his head to the doorway. Tifa was leaning against the bedroom frame, and it seemed that a couple of curious friends had followed. Well, actually, by a "couple", Cloud meant everyone.

He smiled and turned his head back to Skylar.

"You know, a couple of years ago, my best friend died saving me, and it took me what felt like a lifetime to learn that I had to move on. To learn it wasn't my fault he died, but his choice. The same goes for you."

"Zack?" she asked.

A small smile emerged on Cloud's lips. Even his daughter knew about Zack.

'Had he just called her his daughter?' he thought.

Tifa looked at the moment the two were having. Having met their daughter only a few hours ago, Cloud had already made a connection with her. She, herself, still hadn't gotten over the fact that they had a child, and the fact that her kid was only a few years younger than she was, didn't make it any better. If only she knew that Cloud had literally felt the same way a few moments before.

The Vincent clone came into the room.

"Sky, if you knew about this "Zack" guy…why did you have such a hard time believing the rest of us when we told you that you had no reason to feel guilty?" the Vincent clone asked.

Skylar paused. Why _had_ it been so easy for her to accept her guiltlessness?

Vincent cut in, "I guess she needed to hear it from her father's mouth."

Skylar smiled, "I guess so."

_I hope she didn't seem too quick to forgive, and I hope you like it so far. I live for your reviews! Do it!_


	9. Chapter 9: New Friends

*****Disclaimer*** I in no way own final fantasy or anything associated with it….but I wish I did. I only own… well, you'll see ;)**

When the clock in Cloud's room began to ring, everyone realized how late it was—five-o-clock- to be exact. Cloud hit the off button. He'd take a break today.

It was at that moment the he realized how exhausted he was.

"Maybe we should all go to bed."

Tifa nodded, "Yeah, it's been a long night. You're all free to stay here, though."

Everyone agreed to stay. They were all too tired to go home, and they all still had questions for their new friends, well, if they could really consider them their friends, so while Yuffie helped Tifa get pillows and blankets from Cloud's closet, the men helped to move the mattresses to the bar. Tonight they'd have a sleepover as a group. This excited the children and Yuffie, very much; however, as everyone began to say their quiet goodnights, realization hit the young Yuffie Kisaragi.

"Wait a minute, if Skylar looks like Tifa, and you're her daughter…that means that…" Yuffie gasped. Swiftly getting up and pointing her finger at the Vincent clone and her own clone, she screamed, "You're my children! Wait _our _children! Vinnie! We have children!"

The two teens gave an acknowledging smile to their mother and father, who had grown frighteningly still.

"Tara Valentine! At your service!" said the young girl enthusiastically.

"Jun," said the young man with a devilish grin. Vincent was stunned. The kid looked just like he did many years ago. He even used to have the same haircut.

At that moment, the rest of the group also figured out that their clones were also their children.

"Jenna? What the hell Jenna, you're only three! How? How is this possible?" said Cid while pointing to the grown Jenna Highwind. Jenna only smiled at her father.

"Wait, yo! You tellin' me that this runt is my son? He's supposed to be in here!" said Reno while pointing to Elena's stomach.

"No worries dad. Deno's got your back, yo."

Elena sighed, "They even talk the same."

"Marlene! It is you! Girl, you so dang pretty!" shouted a very excited Barrett.

"Thanks daddy."

"Denzel?' asked a very amused Tifa. She _knew_ the two of them liked each other.

The young man gave a very bashful smile confirming her suspicions. Barrett, however, was not pleased.

"Punk! I knew I couldn't trust you in the same room as my baby!" he said pointing to the older Denzel, but he immediately moved his finger to the smaller one, who was inconveniently standing beside young Marlene.

"What do you want with my baby?" he demanded.

Denzel coward behind Marlene.

"Nothing! I'm only 10!"

"Daddy! Picking on little Denzel isn't going to solve anything. Besides, I made the first move," said the older Marlene coming to the younger Denzel's aid.

At that moment both little Denzel and Barrett went, "NOOO!"

Immediately making eye contact with the young boy, Barrett asked, "I know why I'm unhappy, but why are you?"

"What kind of guy gets asked out by a girl? That's sad!"

The older Marlene looked at him and smiled.

"You do." She said as she poked him in the cheek.

"Yeah? Well, Marlene! Let's go out tomorrow!"

Marlene's eye grew wide before shouting, "NO!" She then made a dash for her room.

"Marlene!" screamed Denzel running after her.

When the two children were out of sight, Barrett said, "I kind of like him, but not you." The older Denzel laughed.

"We're the same person."

"Yeah, well, I trust little Marlene. I don't know about the big one."

"Daddy!"

"I'm just kidding! Hell, like you kids care what I think, but still I don't want to see any touching. Understand?"

"But daddy, we're married."

"WHAT! Not my baby! You're too young!"

"I'm 26, daddy."

"You see! Too young."

Marlene sighed and looked at Denzel, who had a big smile on his face.

'He's worth it,' she thought.

Conversing with one another, everyone in the bar seemed to have gained new energy. Reno was comparing his height to Deno, who, to Reno's dismay was a little bit taller. Yuffie was talking about materia with Tara as Jun and Vincent sat up from their positions and began staring at each other. Jenna was laughing with her mothers as her father tried to conceal his joy that his daughter had grown up so well, but he was more excited about the fact that she had a love of flying like he did.

Meanwhile, Cloud, Tifa, and Skylar stood at the bar in silence. They knew that Skylar would never forget what would happen to them, but they hoped she would stop blaming herself. Skylar, on the other hand, did understand that it wasn't her fault her parents died, but at that moment, she promised herself that no matter what the cost she would prevent them from dying. She wouldn't give them the choice to live or die, nor would she let Hojo get to her parents twice.

_Yeah, well, I addressed the hook ups, and I tried to put in a little comedic relief because it's just easier to write about, but I hope it wasn't too sudden. I'm super swamped this week, but I'll keep trying to update a chapter a day ;)_


	10. Chapter 10: My Peace

*****Disclaimer*** I in no way own final fantasy or anything associated with it….but I wish I did. I only own… well, Tara, Jenna, Jun, and Skylar…am I missing anyone? No… okay! Enjoy!**

Skylar hadn't been able to sleep that night. So many things had happened to her, things she'd never imagined would have been possible. She was happy, don't misunderstand that, but she was also worried.

It was as if a weight had been lifted off of her shoulders and yet, instantaneously put back on. Sure, she felt significantly better. Her father had somewhat relieved the burden that she had been feeling, but her sudden guiltlessness made her realize that there was still chance that she would lose her loved ones. She had to stop it. One way or another, she was going to find Hojo and prevent him from recreating Sephiroth. Until that day, she would not, could not, find peace.

"What are you doing up?" said a deep groggy voice.

Skylar turned around to see that Jun had entered the room she was standing in—her future bedroom.

"Ummm…looking for the bathroom?"

"I doubt it. Couldn't sleep, huh?"

Skylar sighed, "No."

Jun smiled and wrapped his arms around her.

"I missed you," he said.

Giggling like a young girl, Skylar playfully slapped Jun on the arm.

"We were apart for, at most, 12 hours!"

"12 hours too long, if you ask me."

"I didn't."

It was during moments like these that Skylar realized how grateful she was for having Jun. Growing up, the two had a very peculiar relationship. Skylar and Tara were great friends, but her and Jun always fought and argued over matters that most would consider "trivial". After the death of her parents, they had gotten closer. He would be the one to listen to her problems and hold her when she cried. They'd never say it out loud, but she'd die for him, and he for her. It was just an established fact in their relationship. Without one, the other wouldn't be able to go on—nor would they want to.

Jun chuckled and tucked Skylar's head under his chin.

"How do you feel?"

"I…I feel….I feel worried, and I feel happy, I guess, but I also feel scared. Jun, what if we don't change the future? What if I lose them all over again?"

Jun sighed, "Then…then you'll have me, and I'll have you."

Skylar paused to think about it for a moment.

"What if I want both?"

Jun smiled, "You_ deserve_ both."

"Thanks," Skylar said with a smile. "I love you," she added.

Jun smiled, "You know that I love you too."

Skylar looked into his eyes and wrapped her arms tighter around him. Jun gave her what most others couldn't, a complete and total feeling of peace.

Cloud had been standing outside the door. After about two hours of tossing and turning, he realized his mind was full of too many thoughts for sleep to have been a possibility. Giving in to his restless mind, he had decided to go to his room and catch up on his work, but he was surprised to find Skylar and Jun there. It had astounded him how close the two were, but at the same time, he found himself a little jealous. He wished the he could have that sort of relationship with Tifa. Jun seemed like he had a reserved personality, yet here he was expressing his feelings with such a gentle ease. If Jun could do it, Cloud thought that so could he.

Slowly, Cloud descended the stairs to find a very tired Tifa shuffling around in the kitchen.

"What are you doing up?" she asked.

"Couldn't sleep," he replied, to which she nodded.

'Do it!' he thought to himself. After a pause, he decided to finally do just that. "H-hey Tifa."

Tifa looked up, "Yes Cloud?"

"…"

"…"

Tifa understood.

"I love you too Cloud."

Cloud sighed in defeat and nodded.

'One day…' he thought to himself.

_Sorry, it's been a couple of days since I've uploaded tried to create a cute moment between my two favorite couples;)_


	11. Chapter 11: The Impossible

*****Disclaimer*** I in no way own final fantasy or anything associated with it….but I wish I did. I only own… well, Tara, Jenna, Jun, and Skylar…am I missing anyone? No… okay! Enjoy!**

A few hours later, it seemed that most of the guests had woken up. _Most _being the word of interest.

"Reno! Deno! It's rude to fall asleep at the dining table," scolded a slightly amused Elena.

She put her hands on her stomach. 'They are so alike,' she thought.

Those two weren't the only ones. Jenna was talking with her father about her ship back home, Marlene and Denzel were playing hide- and-go-seek with their younger versions, which wasn't really fair because the older two remembered all of their hiding places from when they were little. Tara and Yuffie were sulking in a corner because they had both been banned from the kitchen, and for once, Tifa was relaxing beside Cloud while Skylar did the cooking—with Jun's help, of course.

"Why does Jun get to help?" Tara whined from her seat.

Jun smirked. "Because I didn't burn down half of our home three years ago. Besides, you and mom both can't cook for your lives."

"Don't act all super cool cuz you got daddy's genes!" she retorted.

Barrett spun his head toward Vincent.

"You can cook? Man, since when?"

Vincent looked up from where he was sitting before eyeing Yuffie. He then smirked before saying, "Hey, at least one person in a relationship has to cook, and it definitely wasn't going to be Yuffie."

"Watch it!" a fuming ninja shouted from across the room.

Vincent could only smile at Yuffie, but then he heard a tired yawn coming from his left.

Deno was rubbing his eyes when he said, "That's not true Papa V, mom and dad both can't cook, yo."

"Papa V?" he asked, the irritation flowing clearly with every word.

"Don't worry dad!" Tara said in defense. "He's been calling you that forever."

Jun scoffed, "Yeah because he said he was going to marry you, forever ago."

Vincent's eyebrows began to furrow.

"Doesn't help that you two have been dating for just as long either," added Skylar.

"Traitor!" screamed Tara, but Skylar only shrugged.

Vincent turned around to face Deno, who to his dismay was hiding behind his mother, his very pregnant mother.

He and Yuffie then both turned to Tara.

"HIM?" they asked in unison.

Tara shrugged. "He grows on you."

The two adults let out a sigh, as the rest of the group tried to stifle their laughs.

"Brunch is served!" announced Skylar—interrupting the very awkward moment.

One by one, she placed a bowl of miso soup, side dishes, and rice in front of each person—even Reno, who was still asleep.

The group began to dig in, but many of them paused after taking their first bites.

"Is everything okay?" asked Skylar, a little worried.

"It tastes just like Tifa's food," said a very happy Marlene before digging back into her food.

Denzel nodded and began to eat again, but Tifa could only smile and look down at her bowl.

"You really are my kid, huh?" she asked.

Skylar smiled, small tears brimming her eyes. "The one and only."

Cloud chuckled to himself, which got the attention of the room.

"It's a good thing you don't cook like me."

"He can't even boil water!" agreed the younger Denzel."

Barrett let out a great laugh when he heard this.

"Not even water? Spiky, that's sad."

"Daddy, you're no better." Said the two Marlenes.

The entire bar was soon filled with laughter, but this was interrupted by the entrance of Rufus Shinra and the Turks.

"Uncle Rufus, Tseng, Rude!" welcomed a very excited Deno. "Oh man! It's good to see you all, yo."

Rufus was surprised to see copies of his acquaintances all over the room.

"What happened?"

"Time travel," replied Elena nonchalantly.

"I see…" nothing this group did surprised him anymore.

"Come and eat Mr. Rufus, Mr. Tseng, and Rude. There's plenty," said Skylar.

"We can't we have some business to attend to,"

"Wait!" interrupted Barrett. "Why you all so good to Shinra? The man's no good."

Skylar smiled. "Uncle Barrett, he's trying. Besides, in the future, he'll be the one who helps us to get here."

"From the future?" Rufus asked to which Skylar nodded.

"That explains it,"

"What?" asked Cloud.

"There has been a Sephiroth sighting."

_Okay! It's getting exciting! Hope you all missed me! I had to catch up on my studies, but I still managed to finish this chapter__ hope you all are enjoying this story so far. Rate and Review!_


	12. Chapter 12: Don't Try To Stop Us

*****Disclaimer*** I in no way own final fantasy or anything associated with it….but I wish I did. I only own… well, Tara, Jenna, Jun, and Skylar…am I missing anyone? No… okay! Enjoy!**

"How can this be?" muttered Skylar under her breath.

No one in the room had an answer. Skylar thought about their situation for a moment before grabbing her weapon and storming out of the bar.

"Where- where are you going?" asked Tara.

"I'm going to end this. I'll get to him before he gets to one of us."

The others quickly followed after her, but that was when Skylar turned around to face her elders.

"You guys have to stay. This Sephiroth definitely isn't from this time. He's not the same being that you all once knew; none of you will stand a lasting chance."

"Besides," added Jun, "you guys have to take care of Elena and the children."

"Yeah!" agreed Tara. "You should take care of yourselves, too, because if any of you die, we're screwed."

Cid furrowed his brow.

"I don't think so! You try to stop us! We ain't just gonna sit back and let you all do the work."

Sky began to object, "No. You guys have—,"

"Don't try to stop us," interjected a very stern Cloud.

Skylar wasn't one to argue with her father, especially when he was using that voice. She sighed in defeat and began to walk forward.

"Where's your ship dad?" asked Jenna.

Cid smiled and nodded towards one of his most prized possessions_. The Shera_.

The group boarded the large vessel, and set off towards an abandoned part of town. Ironically, it was the place where Cloud had faced Sephiroth a few years prior.

"So what do we do now? How do we find Sephiroth here?" asked Tifa.

Skylar smiled. Taking out her gun, she pressed a switch that made it transform into a sword. With this, she made an incision on her forearm.

Coolly, she replied, "Now, we wait."

_I know, very short, but I wanted to make a quick update without getting sucked away from my work__ by the way, I basically imagined Sky's clothes first, but I couldn't decided between a gun or sword. I ended up web surfing and found out that Lightning from FFXIII had like a gunblade that looked pretty cool and I was like, "Hey! Perfect!" yep, so that is the story of that haha. As for the others, Jun and Tara inherited their parent's weapons after their disappearances. Jenna would probably have a gun. Denzel would have learned sword fighting from Cloud, so he'd have a super huge sword, and Marlene would probably be a fist fighter—like Tifa. Btw…Sky would pretty much use hand-to-hand combat if she didn't think her opponent was too challenging, but for Sephiroth, she'd definitely need a sword. I imagine her using her fists when practicing with Tara, and I think Tara would be the type to get upset over that…wow this is a super huge authors note! My bad!_


	13. Chapter 13: The Battle and the Loss

*****Disclaimer*** I in no way own final fantasy or anything associated with it….but I wish I did. I only own… well, Tara, Jenna, Jun, and Skylar…am I missing anyone? No… okay! Enjoy!**

"What the hell! What the hell do you think you're doing?" questioned a very flustered Barrett.

Cloud looked at Skylar's bleeding arm. Having been given enhanced senses, he realized that her blood was giving off a powerful and distinct smell. He couldn't quite explain the smell, but he felt that whatever smell she was giving off was unnatural. It didn't smell bad, if anything it was almost enticing, but it was still undeniably unnatural.

"She's leading Sephiroth to us," he said.

Skylar nodded, "You can smell it."

"Smell what? Her _blood_?" asked Tifa, who, clearly, felt very uncomfortable in this situation.

"Like my genetic makeup, my blood composition is also skewed. The combination of mako soaked DNA and normal human DNA caused my blood to also become a mix between the two mediums. For those who can smell it, they can see that my blood smells strange, but this is because my blood has Mako in it, which is condensed lifestream, a substance that should not be in human bodies. As a result, my blood smells both wonderful and abnormal. It is because of this that Sephiroth has found me time and time again."

"No doubt that Sephiroth has been enhanced far more than Cloud," said Vincent.

"That," Skylar added, "but he's also had some help."

"Help?" asked Tifa.

As if on cue, the wolf like creatures the group had faced a few years ago, were swiftly approaching the heroes.

Skylar readied herself for a fight, but Jun moved her away.

"We can take this. You have more important business."

Skylar nodded. Looking into the distance, she saw Sephiroth, Kadaj, Loz, and Yazoo. The three brothers began to attack the rest of the group, although, it seemed like the brothers had grown stronger from the last time they met. There was, however, something wrong about the brothers. All three of them seemed mindless, like empty shells doing the biddings of Hojo and Sephiroth. Cloud wondered what it could possibly mean, but he knew that this wasn't the time to be thinking about that.

Meanwhile, Skylar slowly transformed. From root to tip her black hair began to turn blond just as her eyes faded into a clear blue. Now, although she looked like Tifa, she had Clould's traits. Everyone was shocked; however, they didn't have much time to process what had happened because they had far more important matters to attend to. When her transformation was complete, she and Sephiroth stood a good distance away from one another, each staring into the other's eyes.

"I see you've reunited with your parents," he said with a voice as cold as ice.

"You won't touch them," Skylar declared.

In a flash, Sephiroth was beside her a strand of her hair in his hand.

"I only need you," he said as he tightened the grip on her hair. Immediately, Skylar tried to kick the man, but he was extremely swift. Lucky for her, so was she. Drawing her weapon, she attacked. Blow for blow it seemed as if the two were equal that was until Sephiroth began to taunt Skylar.

"Why are you fighting so hard? You know you can't save them."

"Shut up."

"If you had saved them, wouldn't you have immediately been brought back to an alternate future?"

"Stop it!"

"Why would you still be here?"

For just a moment, Skylar let down her guard, but this was enough for Sephiroth to get in one good blow. The rest of the group watched in horror as Sephiroth slashed his sword from one end of Skylar's body, to the other. A wound reminiscent of the one he had given to Tifa so many years ago.

Skylar fell to the ground. She could tell she was losing a lot of blood, and she found that her vision was fogging up. She looked up from the now blood stained floor to Sephiroth. She hated this man.

Sephiroth chuckled.

"I remember that look, of course now you have your father's traits, but you still have your mother's features, and this is just too nostalgic." He smirked, "You have the same hate in your eyes."

It almost seemed as if hope was lost, that was until she heard her mother's voice.

"What are you doing Sky? Get up! You can do it, so don't listen to him and win!"

Skylar looked over to her mother, who had immediately gone back to fighting the wolf- monster, but she saw her quickly flash an encouraging smile. She then moved her eyes to her father, who was now fighting with Kadaj alongside Denzel, Jenna, and Barrett. He looked over to his daughter and nodded. He knew she could do it. She was, after all, his child.

With a newfound energy, Skylar attacked Sephiroth. Slowly, he felt himself being overtaken. Then, it reached the point where Skylar was about to deal the final blow. At that moment, Sephiroth ended up next to the old Shera at a speed so fast it was as if he teleported.

"It seems that you are victorious today, but if I'm about to lose, I might as well take this with me."

"NO!" both Jenna and Cid screamed at the same time. In a flash, Sephiroth, the brothers, the monsters, and most importantly Shera were gone.

"Damn, a teleporting Materia," mumbled Tara under her breath.

Jenna slowly made her way towards the spot her mother was last in. Cid, however, was stopped by Tifa, who realized that this moment would be harder for Jenna, so Jenna needed to face this without her father.

Jenna fell to her knees and ran her hands over the place her mother had last been. Little by little, Shera's footprints disappeared beneath Jenna's hands. A lone tear fell off of her cheek and onto the dirt. She couldn't cry. She wouldn't let herself.

Skylar, who had made her way to Jenna, slowly knelt beside her.

"I'm sorry," she said. Tears brimmed her eyes - she couldn't help but to blame herself.

Jenna looked up at her and smiled. Taking Skylar into a big hug, she said, "It's not your fault. It's never been your fault. Sky," she paused, "it's better her than you. It's better any of us than you."

'That's why it's my fault,' she thought. "What will we do?" she asked.

"We're going to kick that womanish guy's ass."

The two girls let themselves let out a quiet chuckle. It was at that moment that Marlene collapsed.

_It's been a looooong time my friends. AP exams are coming up and I'm cramming my butt off! Don't worry it'll be over soon… I hope. Yeah, so idk if the story makes sense, but it does to me btw… I don't' know if there's such a thing as transport materia, but let's make believe there is! Rate and review!_

_Just for reference. I made a slight change here. I totally forgot about the hair changing thing, but I'll be sure to address it next chapter._


	14. Chapter 14: Going Back Against Her Will

*****Disclaimer*** I in no way own final fantasy or anything associated with it….but I wish I did. I only own… well, Tara, Jenna, Jun, and Skylar…am I missing anyone? No… okay! Enjoy!**

_Finished AP testing. Sucked. Oh! I also started writing a batman fanfiction. Tehe. Well, I missed this story, so I'm picking up where I left off. I hope you enjoy._

"Marlene!" Denzel and Barrett both cried. Denzel ran over to his wife and took her into his arms.

"What happened?"

Marlene winced. "Kadaj injected me with Hojo's _Amp G_." Marlene moved the hair away from her neck to show Denzel the place where she was injected. He could see that her veins were moving a black tint from the point of injection to the rest of her body.

"Shit," Denzel muttered under his breath. Barrett made his way up to his daughter and put a hand to her face.

"What the hell is happening to her? And what's Amp…whatever you called it."

"Amp G is an amplified form of geostigma that Hojo created. The original virus would take months to be fatal, but this version… it… it only needs 24 hours," interjected Jenna.

Marlene tried to smile for the two men so she could show them that not only was she alright, but she was also sorry that she had been so careless.

"Then fix her! Do something," demanded Barrett, but Denzel only shook his head. "There's nothing any of us can do here. The technology…it's not advanced enough."

Tifa knelt down to take Marlene's hand. "There's only an 18 year difference…surely there's something—"

Tara cut her off. "There's nothing. It may only be 18 years, but its 18 years too soon."

Jun, who had just made his way over to Skylar looked at Marlene and thought of a way to help her. "There is something we can do, but…" he trailed off.

Skylar took his hand. "What is it?" She put her hand under his chin and directed his head to the direction of her own. He was now looking at her crystal blue eyes, red or blue, he could never resist her gaze.

"We can send her back."

Marlene forced herself up and screamed, "NO! You can't just send me… then you all won't be able to go home."

Skylar knew what Jun wanted, and knowing Tara, she would want the same. Skylar looked at Jenna and watched her nod her head in approval. Finally, she looked at her big brother, but he wasn't looking at her, which made her realize that he wanted Marlene to get better, but he couldn't ask everyone else to stay behind. This helped Skylar to make her choice.

"We'll stay."

Marlene's eyes grew wide, and Denzel looked up at his little sister with gratitude radiating from his body. "If we don't stay, we'll have no home to return to, besides our parents are here…so this can also be our home," she concluded.

Tara took out a small glowing materia from her pouch and put it into Denzel's hand. "Take care of her."

Denzel looked up at Tara with a puzzled look. He wasn't expecting to go.

"Why ya' looking at me like that? What? You were going to let your wife go alone?" the girl said. Denzel looked at the materia and tightened his grip around it. "Thank you."

Marlene was flabbergasted. "You're not actually thinking about leaving them here?"

The young man looked at his wife guiltily. "If we don't go…you'll die, and I—no, we can't let that happen." Jenna took out a small circular device from her bag and tossed it to Denzel.

"We don't have time. Goodbye everyone," Denzel said, but all the while Marlene was shouting phrases of protest. Denzel disregarded her.

Barrett looked at the young man. He wouldn't admit it, but he was good for his daughter. The burly man gently punched Denzel's arm. "You're a good kid."

Denzel smiled and watched everyone say goodbye to them, but when their goodbyes were over, Denzel took the small materia and placed it into the hollowed out opening of the device. Instantaneously, the device started to emit a glow, which enwrapped the couple. Marlene had started crying and was being held back by Denzel. He took her into his arms, and she buried her head into the nape of his neck. At that moment, the two disappeared.

"Now," Skylar began, "We have to kill that bastard or else Marlene and Denzel going back alone will all be in vain."

The group of 5, which was initially made up of 8, all looked to Skylar and nodded. They had to defeat Hojo for the sake of their friends and family, but more importantly, for the sake of the future they would one day live in.

_I hope you all like it _


	15. Chapter 15: WHAT!

*****Disclaimer*** I in no way own final fantasy or anything associated with it….but I wish I did. I only own… well, Tara, Jenna, Jun, and Skylar…am I missing anyone? No… okay! Enjoy!**

_My parents took away my computer, and will again soon; I've also been working on my Batman fanfic, but no worries! I will finish this!_

Cloud hadn't been able to sleep that night, but then again, neither could anyone else. Everyone was sitting in the booths back at the bar in silence. Even Elena and the children, who were forced to stay home, had become somber after hearing the news. Skylar motioned for Marlene to come to her side, and the girl obediently complied. Taking the girl up in her arms, she seated her on her lap. She then proceeded to wrap her arms around her and rest her head atop the young girl's.

"I'm sorry," she said more to herself than to Marlene. The group looked upon the scene with heavy hearts, but Tifa was the most heartbroken. Today she had watched one of her daughters become poisoned, and now she was looking at the other blame herself; it hurt to think that Tifa couldn't protect them. Cloud could sense that something was bothering her, but he didn't really know how to ask; instead, he put his arm around Tifa's shoulders and brought her closer to him. She looked up at him and smiled graciously before burying her head into his neck.

"I hope you're not talking to me," replied the girl quite defiantly. All eyes in the room looked at the small girl in shock. Even Skylar's eyes had widened at her response.

"What?" she asked quite confused.

"You risked your life trying to save us. All of us. Why should you be sorry? Besides, as your big sister I should be protecting you, not the other way around." Marlene took Skylar's hand at patted it. "So stop being sad, kay?"

Skylar smiled at Marlene. She was a lot younger than her at the moment, but she was already so mature. "Kay."

At that moment the tension in the room slightly lifted. This was also the time that Yuffie decided to get something off of her chest.

"I feel like I should share something," she declared. Everyone looked up and some even grimaced expecting the worst.

"So am I a bad fighter in the future?" she asked.

Tara and Jun looked at one another and then looked at their mother. "You're one of the best fighters we know." Tara replied while Jun nodded.

"Mhmmm… so why is it that when we fight I have to be baby-sitted?"

Jun and Tara started to look a little guilty. "Ahh...well…you see…" Tara started. "Jun, you tell her.

Jun raised an eyebrow. "Can we tell her?"

Skylar shrugged as did Deno, but Jenna replied by saying, "I think I'd be for the best…I'd be dangerous otherwise."

Vincent's eyes grew wide. "Tell her what?" he demanded with a serious tone of voice.

Jun sighed. "Mom… you're uhh…"

"I'M WHAT?" the frantic ninja demanded.

"Pregnant," Tara said as she watched her father's mouth fall open.

"With me…" Jun added.

The entire bar was silent for what felt like an eternity.

"WHAT!" everyone screamed.

_DUM DUM DUMMMMM._


End file.
